Academic IELTS Writing - Task 2

Some people think that there is too much advertising in our daily lives.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Even though we may not notice advertisements because we have become immune to them, adverts are everywhere – on TV, in printed media, on the internet, on billboards, on sportswear.

Sponsors cover a lot of expenses via their expenditure on advertising. This is a way to inform consumers about their products. Unfortunately, there are too many advertisements on all types of media. Marketing departments are discovering new creative ways of bombarding us with their client’s products. Search engines such as google, for example, monitor your activities online so that they can target products to suit your needs. The same happens on Facebook where adverts appear on your newsfeed or when you are watching a video banners appear at the bottom of the screen blocking your view and encouraging you to click on the commercial.

It is virtually impossible to avoid advertisements. Flyers are placed in our mail boxes, our online films are interrupted to show ads, junk mail arrives in our email and wherever we turn our glaze we encounter advertisements.

On the other hand, some people might believe that advertisements serve a useful purpose, letting consumers know what products are available on the market, new products and innovations, special offers, discounts etc. These people may benefit from having access to all this information on goods and services.

I, however, feel that we are burdened with advertisements that do not target any specific age or interest group because modern media is able to reach a wide audience.

Question taken from Richmond Practice Tests for IELTS p. 57